Monthly Archives: January 2009

Day out in Cornwall at Newquay Zoo

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Set amongst a gorgeous backdrop and striking lakeside garden the prize winning Newquay Zoo is the perfect place to go with all the family on your Cornish Cottage Holiday. Featuring animals from all around the world from the tiniest monkey to the largest African lion. The Zoo is proud to be the first place in the South West to achieve a Gold accreditation award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme!

Whilst looking around the Zoo you can watch animal feeding and listen to interesting talks on how the animals live in the wild and captivity. The energetic otter family are usually popular with children as they can be very playful and entertaining. Elsewhere in the oriental garden you will find meerkats, penguins, red pandas, lemurs and many other intriguing animals.

A short trip to the Tropical House will show off the more exotic animals used to a slightly warmer climate! Popular animals like the sloths, monkeys and toucans are always fascinating to watch as well as the snakes, frogs, toads and bugs that are based next door in the Minibeasts Room.

The Zoo also is home to a brilliant childrens play park which keeps them entertained for hours. There is also a dragon maze, village farm, face painting area and creative club to keep the little ones busy. If you are peckish or in need of a snack there are an abundance of seating and picnic tables in case you were supremely prepared and packed a lunch! If not then the Café Lemur Restaurant and Tippy’s snack bar offer decent food at good prices. Also during the summer the zoo offer a lovely barbeque by the lakeside which on a sunny day can really make your Day out in Cornwall one to remember.

Isle of Wight Weird & Wonderful Facts

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Isle of Wight Holidays are well known to be one of the most popular holiday destinations in the UK so below we will go through some interesting facts about the great island.

Strange & Brilliant Facts!

· The Village of Bonchurch is the Isle of Wights finest Victorian village, attracting writers, philosophers and artists like Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, Thackeray and Lord Macaulay all stayed for lengthy periods. Well known poet Algernon Charles Swinburn spent his youth in East Dene and Author Elizabeth Sewell spent over 50 years on the island (her brother Henry Sewell went on to be New Zealand’s 1st Prime Minister).

· An un-named species of dinosaur was discovered on the Isle of Wight in 1988. The fossil found was 12ft long and described as “cat like” with brutally sharp claws and teeth and abnormally long legs which made it incredibly fast.

· Frequently called the Garden Isle, the Isle of Wight is the host to some very rare plants and animals. One particular animal that appears to be thriving on the island is the Red Squirrel which has unfortunately been ousted in the mainland UK.

· Legendary Samuel London, well known to be the tallest man on earth was buried in the Isle of Wight. His tomb can be seen at the Church of the Holy Cross in Binstead.

· The Isle of Wight was the 1st place to endorse graded and inspected accommodation, no wonder there is such a large amount of Isle of Wight Luxury Hotels.

Sail in the Lake District

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lake district hotel

Sailing is becoming increasingly popular pastime for people of all ages and backgrounds. Part of the rise in popularity was down to the success of ‘Team GB’ at the Beijing Olympics where Olympic hero Ben Ainslie won his third gold in a row and help bring Britain sailing medal tally in 2008 to 6 including an amazing 4 gold’s, more than any other country. Sailing is also attracting people because of the sheer fun of it. You can simply relax and enjoy as the world and some stunning scenery pass by or you can enjoy almost not stop action as you dash from one side of the boat to the other altering your lines and sails to make sure you catch the best winds and best race lines in the water. There aren’t many sports as versatile and varying as sailing.

The Lake District is one of the best places in the UK to learn to sail. As the name suggests the area is home to some of the biggest and best lakes to be found in England and for the novice sailor they are perhaps some of the softest waters to be found. The Lake District also has the advantage of stunning scenery. While this might not help you sail it will certainly make it even more enjoyable and memorable. The formation of the Lake District is also conducive to sailing as the hills and peaks create natural wind tunnels which help make sailing just that little bit easier. There are numerous great things to see and do in the National Park if you do want a break from the water while there are plenty of fine Lake District Hotels where you can rest after a day on the water.

There are a number of training schools across the region including the Royal Yachting Association training center. Here you can be taught by the experts and learn the skill that you need to know to sail safely. Before you know it you will be out on the water having the time of your life. You can achieve all this while still being able to enjoy a Lake District Holiday.

Learn to Surf in Cornwall

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newquay hotel

What better place to try and learn to surf than Cornwall. Cornwall has long been regarded as the home of surfing in Britain and is a mecca for surfers from right across Europe. So why not learn a great new skill and visit the UK’s top holiday destination all in one great fun Cornwall break?

There are numerous surf schools across Cornwall, many offering great rates. Often the school will provide you with a board, wetsuit and any other equipment you may need so you don’t have to buy any equipment until you know what you are doing. Don’t worry if you are complete and utter novice, after all everyone has to start somewhere. Your instructors will go through with you step by step what you will need to do right on the beach. Once you have mastered the basics they will then take you out on the water but don’t worry it will be very shallow water just to get you used to floating in the water with your board and your instructor will be with you at all times.

You won’t be learning all day so you will have plenty of time to explore Cornwall. Your friends can make a day of it by heading down to the beach with you. They can surf, sun bathe, build sandcastles or just have fun watching you as you try to stand up on your board for the first time. After a day of mastering the surf board you will be starving but your in luck as there are many fantastic places to eat throughout Cornwall. You can find everything from organic burgers vans to Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant and Jamie Olivers 15 restaurant.  There are also many great nights out for you to celebrate your new found surfer status.

Newquay is perhaps the principle surfer town in Cornwall and with many great Newquay hotel, attractions, eateries and nightclubs it’s extremely popular and your bound to make a few new surfer friends during your stay.

Take a Spring trip to Bath

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short breaks bath

If you are suffering from those post holiday hangovers you might want to think about taking a short break to help recharge your batteries for 2009. A growing number of people are choosing Bath as one of their favourite short break destination in the UK.

Bath is a beautiful place thanks to its rich Georgian history and architecture. Bath contains some of the finest Georgian buildings to be found in Britain not to mention its stunning roman buildings, regarded as some of the most famous and important Roman buildings to be found outside of Italy. This is why the city was granted a World Heritage city, the only World Heritage city in the UK to achieve such a title.

There are quite a few things to see and do in Bath all year round so if you do find yourself relaxing just a bit too much there are plenty of things to keep you occupied and entertained. The most famous of these attractions is the Roman Baths. Romans came to Bath in around 50 A.D. and built the baths as well as a temple dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva. Remains of the temple as well as the baths can still be seen today.

There are many great shops to be found in Bath so if a little retail therapy is what you need then Bath won’t disappoint. Once you have shopped till you drop there are many fine cafes and restaurants such as the well known Pump Room where you can relax and eat after day of sightseeing and shopping.

Lucky enough there are many fine Bath Hotels to stay in during your break to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. There are also a number of Luxury Hotel in Bath if the prefer the life of luxury.

Fog on the Levels

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Glastonbury Tor above the fog.The Somerset Levels are well-known for their fog. Rolling in during the night to settle across the large, flat expanse of land, partly sea-mist brought up the Bristol Channel and partly the result of the area itself, the fog is often impenetrably dense and thick. It blocks out sound and sight and can leave you with no idea where you are and no landmarks by which to navigate. Sounds perfect for a scary, cheap family holiday, doesn’t it? Fog itself has been used frequently in ghost and horror stories to terrify people. Just as darkness means we don’t know what’s around us, so does fog, and we’re afraid of the unknown. The Somerset levels boast a plethora of these stories themselves, and if you’ve ever seen the great clouds of vapour bearing down on you, or looked out across the landscape on a cold morning from one of the hills that surround the levels, you’ll know why. People running panicked through the fog, not knowing which way is which and stumbling over unseen hazards whilst something circles around them, moaning and snarling, is easily imaginable when you suddenly find yourself with only two metres visible in front of you. The sight is spectacular, and people who wake up early enough on family holidays in Somerset can enjoy it themselves